On the Eve of Everything
by ABettis41319
Summary: Kate finds herself alone on Christmas Eve. Can Castle save the day? One-shot set in season 4


_This is not a new chapter… I just noticed some mistakes and made some changes. Reposting edited version. Sorry for any more mistakes you may find._

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><p>The morning wasn't going her way.<p>

Kate sat at her at her desk with her head in her hands. Frustrated could not even begin to describe her feelings.

She had just got off of the phone with her dad. He had called to let her know that he wouldn't be able to make it to her apartment that evening because he was snowed in at their cabin in the Adirondack Mountains.

Her plan was to work half a day today, celebrate the night with her dad and then have the next two days to herself. Now she dreaded being at her apartment alone for the evening.

Kate sighed in defeat and decided to make herself a cup of bland coffee since Castle wasn't in today.

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><p>Halfway through her now cold cup of coffee and done with all her paperwork that was supposed to hold her over till noon, she heard the elevator ding and his familiar greetings ring out.<p>

"Good morning, Detective." He sat down in his usual spot and held out a travel mug of Kate's usual coffee order.

She snatched the mug out of his hand and brought it to her mouth not caring if it was steaming hot. "Mmm, Castle, you read my mind. Thank you. And what are you doing here, by the way?"

"You're here, Beckett. And it's Christmas Eve. I couldn't have you going without your coffee on Christmas Eve."

"That's really sweet, Castle, but you know we do have a very expensive espresso machine in the break room that you bought for us. You didn't have to make a special trip just to bring me coffee."

"Maybe I just wanted to see you today, Kate."

Kate stilled at the use of her first name and the sincerity in his voice. She met his eyes for a split second and acknowledged him with a slight nod and then dropped her head down shying away from him.

Not wanting to push her any further, Castle rose from his chair to leave. "Well, I better get going. Alexis and I still have to bake sugar cookies before our evening festivities tonight. I hope you have a Merry Christmas, Beckett."

"Merry Christmas, Castle, and thanks for the coffee." Kate gave him a genuine smile as he turned towards the elevator.

Turning around quickly he spoke up, "Oh and Kate, your welcome to come over tonight after your dad leaves, no matter the time. And you can even stay the night in the guest room. I would hate for you to spend Christmas day alone. Just think about it." He didn't give her time to respond as he stepped into elevator.

Kate turned back to her desk and stared down at the paperwork, not really focusing on anything. He really was the most thoughtful man. She was glad he didn't let her respond because if he found out she was going to be alone tonight he would have insisted that she spend the evening with his family and she wasn't sure if she could share this holiday with anyone other than her dad yet.

Christmas Eve was one of her mom's favorite days of the year, so her and her dad always spent it together remembering the woman that they lost.

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><p>Instead of leaving at noon, Kate stayed until 5:30 looking over cold cases just to give her something to do.<p>

As she was driving home she realized she had never spent Christmas Eve alone. Yes, she had worked plenty on this holiday but she was never actually alone. She could not stand the thought of being the only one in her apartment tonight.

She knew she would eventually have to make her way home, but for now she just wanted to have people around, even if they were strangers, so she made her way to the Old Haunt.

Castle had told her earlier in the week that he was keeping the bar open for the unfortunate souls that didn't have anyone to celebrate with. She never imagined at the time that she would be one of those souls.

She made her way in and found an empty seat at the bar and ordered a glass of her favorite red wine. It was no coincidence that they carried the particular brand. Once Castle found out that she loved it so much, he made sure the bar was always stocked.

Kate smiled at the thought. She was doing more of that these days, not being able to hide her grin at silly and sweet thoughts of her partner. In fact, he had become more than her partner. He had become her rock and she was slowly letting her walls down for him. She knew it would only be a matter of time before she could resist his charm no more and she honestly couldn't wait.

As she drank her wine she thought back on the year and everything that had happened. It almost seemed unbelievable everything that she had gone through. Not only had she gotten shot, but she lost two mentors before that, had to spend months in rehab getting her body back in shape, spent weekly meetings in therapy, and just 3 weeks ago she had almost been eaten by a tiger. Most importantly though she had come to terms with her feelings towards Castle and that she was, in fact, in love with him.

Just as the thought crossed her mind she once again heard his familiar voice calling her name. "Kate?"

She spun around on her stool looking surprised. "Castle?"

He walked up directly next to her and leaned against the bar nodding and lifting his finger to the bartender on duty. "Kate, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be with your dad."

Kate knew she was caught and pinched the brim between her nose and forehead. "My dad called this morning and said he had been snowed in at the cabin."

The bartender walked up with Castle's beer. Kate watched him take a swig and set it back down.

"And what are you doing here, Castle? I know Martha and Alexis didn't abandon you tonight." Kate still had her coat on and buried her hands in the pockets. It was a habit she picked up when she was nervous.

"I hid their presents down in my office and I forgot to pick them up this morning after I left the precinct." Castle tugged on her sleeve. "Come on, walk down there with me."

Kate got up and followed him down to his office in the basement. She had been down there plenty of times since he bought the place. He was always wanting to show her something new he had done to his space when her and the boys came for a drink.

Tonight, though, she felt awkward as she stood in the middle of the office. He had already offered for her to spend the holiday at his place and she knew he was going to offer again now that she was alone for the evening.

Castle rounded his desk and rummaged through the large bottom drawer, pulling three wrapped gifts out. He came back around and leaned against the front of the desk. He set two gifts down but kept one in his hand. "I wanted to give you this when I saw you this morning but I figured you wouldn't like opening it in front of everyone in the bullpen. Anyways, here open it." Caslte held the gift out in front of him.

"Castle, you didn't have to do that."

"You don't even know what it is yet, Kate. Open it."

Kate stepped forward stopping about a foot away from him. "Fine." She grabbed the box and tore it open. A rush of emotion hit her when she pulled the figurine out. Tears pricked in her eyes and she had to choke back the sob that wanted to come out. "Castle."

Seeing the emotions play over her face, Castle stood up and pulled at her by her elbow. "Kate, are you okay? I thought you would like it, seeing that you have other elephants on your desk at work." He was concerned that he had made a huge mistake.

"No, no, it's beautiful, Castle. I love it. Thank you."

Castle wasn't convinced but he explained it anyway. "Last summer, when you were...I was on a break during a book signing, so I went into an antique store nearby. I saw this elephant figurine and just knew I had to buy it for you. It's was carved out of real elephant ivory back in the late 1800's, so it wasn't illegal at the time." He was hoping she didn't pick up on his mistake of bringing up last summer when she abandon everyone for her fathers cabin.

"Wow, real ivory, that's amazing. I can't believe you've had it all this time." She looked at him with a shy smile. "Knowing you, I bet it drove you crazy to wait this long to give it to me."

"It did, but I wanted to wait for the right time. Are you sure you're okay with it?"

She gave him a sad smile and explained, "Yeah, Castle, I'm more than okay with it. It's just that elephants were my mom's favorite so they kind of became my favorite by default. And well, it's Christmas Eve, which is, or was her favorite holiday so that's why it choked me up a little. And maybe because you're so thoughtful too." She looked back down to admire the piece.

"I'm so sorry, Kate."

"Castle, don't be. I'm fine, really."

Castle wasn't convinced but he dropped it in an effort to lighten the mood. "Well, one thing is for sure... There is no way you are spending tonight alone. No arguments, Kate. You're coming home with me."

"Castle, no. I can not go home with you and interrupt your family Christmas. I appreciate the offer though. And you should really be getting back to them." Kate placed the figurine in her coat pocket and headed for the stairs.

Running after her, Castle grabbed her arm and turned her around. "There is no way I'm letting you sit in my bar tonight and drink by yourself. If you won't come with me, I guess I'll be joining you at your place."

Kate rolled her eyes at his threat. "Really Castle, because I'm pretty sure you won't leave your family alone either."

"Exactly Kate, so they'll come over too."

Realizing she wasn't going to win the argument, she growled in frustration. "Fine, I'll go back with you."

"I knew you couldn't resist. Come on. We'll stop at your place so you can pack a bag."

"Pack a bag?" Kate questioned.

"Yes, Beckett, you're staying the night... again, no arguments."

Pursing her lips, she turned and went up the stairs, stomping along the way.

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><p>Arriving at the loft, Martha and Alexis were thrilled to have Kate as a guest. Castle took Kate's coat and bag upstairs to the guest bedroom as Alexis took Kate's arm to show her their Christmas decorations.<p>

Kate was in awe of how much effort they put forth and was beginning to feel the Christmas spirit build up in her chest.

The night went on as they all enjoyed Christmas movies with sugar cookies and egg nog. Kate watched as the Castle family opened one gift as was their tradition on Christmas Eve. Every now and then she caught Castle starring at her and when their eyes met he would just smile. She knew he was proud that she was enjoying herself on this difficult evening but even more, she could see that he was letting his love shine through in the looks he was giving her.

Normally, she would have found these looks suffocating, however, tonight something had given way inside her heart and she found that she never wanted him to stop looking at her like that.

It was getting late, so Martha and Alexis headed to bed after saying their goodnights.

Castle found his spot next to Kate on the couch. "Thank you, Kate."

She looked at him confused. "For what?"

"For coming tonight. For being yourself and enjoying yourself even though this isn't really a fun night for you. I know it must have been hard."

Kate placed her hand on his knee and squeezed. "No Castle, it wasn't hard. You made it easy and fun. I should be thanking you. Until tonight, I haven't enjoyed a Christmas Eve since my mom died, so thank you."

He didn't say anything but put his hand over hers. To his surprise, she flipped her hand and entwined their fingers, letting their palms kiss.

After a few minutes, Kate gave his hand a final sneeze and released it. "It's late, I should go to bed. Goodnight, Castle." With that she stood and stretched her body.

Castle couldn't help but admire her long lithe body and thought about how he wanted to wrap his self around it and never let go. As he was daydreaming, he heard Kate clear her throat. Snapping himself out of it, he pulled her in close and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Kate."

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><p>Up in the guest bedroom, Kate could not fall asleep. Her mind would not shut down from the evening's events as she replayed the hand holding and simple kiss over and over in her mind. She also realized that she had forgotten to give him his gift once they were alone.<p>

She was now sitting upright in the bed holding his gift. Looking at the clock it read 1:30 am. Kate felt that it was now or never. She grabbed her cellphone and began typing.

K: Are you awake?

A couple of minutes went by before he replied.

C: Yes. I'm in my office. Do you need something?

K: If you're writing I don't want to interrupt.

C: Not interrupting, Kate.

Reading his reply, Kate got out of bed and headed for his office.

"Is everything okay, Kate?" Castle closed his laptops and stood up.

"Everything is fine, Castle. I couldn't sleep and I realized I hadn't given you your gift." Kate was fidgeting with the gift in her hands. She had all of the sudden become extremely nervous. She shoved the gift his way. "Here."

Castle noticed her sudden nervousness but didn't comment. Instead he took the gift while keeping his eyes on Kate. Peeling the wrapping paper away, he found a leather journal. He ran his fingertips over the soft leather and opened it to find blank pages.

"I used to buy journals exactly like this one every Christmas for my mom. It sort of became tradition."

"Kate." Looking into her eyes, he tried to find the hidden meaning.

"I figured you would appreciate this gift being a writer, so I wanted to share that with you."

"I'm honored. More than you know." Castle leaned back against his desk in awe that Kate would share something so personal with him. "Thank you, Kate."

Kate ducked her head. She felt his fingers grab her wrist and pull her into him. She fit between his legs and her arms automatically made their way around his midsection.

"I mean it, Kate. Thank you." His breath tickled her ear. "I don't know if I've ever been given a more meaningful gift."

Kate turned her head towards Castle's. It was her turn to plant a kiss on his cheek.

Goosebumps lit his whole body up as he felt her lips linger. He slowly turned his head not wanting to scare her away. She stayed where she was. Finally his lips grazed hers in a soft kiss. He caught her bottom lip between his and started moving slowly. Kate responded in kind and the kiss grew deeper. She opened up to him and he began to explore her mouth as their tongues melted into one another. They both moaned simultaneously. As Castle's arms tightened around her further, Kate's hands found their way into his hair.

After a few minutes of tasting one another, Kate slowed and finally rested her forehead against his.

"Wow." She tried to catch her breath.

"Yeah, wow." Castle gave a quick kiss to her lips then met his eyes with hers.

She smiled up at him and took in a deep breath in preparation for her next words. "Castle?"

"Yeah?"

"There is something else I want to give you."

"You got me two gifts?" Castle was stunned.

"No, not exactly. I..." Kate was nervous but she knew she couldn't wait any longer. She pulled back so that she could see his whole face. "It's not a gift that you unwrap."

Castle listened to her intently.

"I'm giving you my heart, Castle. It's yours."

Castle wasn't sure he understood. "Kate, what are you saying?"

She puffed out a breath and then laid it all out. "I love you, Castle. I'm in love with you." She held her breath hoping there was no rejection on his face.

"Kate." Slowly, he brought both hands to cradle her cheeks. "Kate, look at me." When she did he searched her eyes. He saw nothing but truth and love in them. He smudged his lips hard against hers and then barely pulled back. "I love you too, so much."

They both laughed and found each other's mouth again.

After a while Castle pulled back knowing there was only one thing left to say.

"Merry Christmas, Kate."

"Merry Christmas, Rick."

Best. Christmas. Ever.


End file.
